Title may be just a bit oversimplified. I am looking for a book (hopefully to start this evening). I would prefer something fantastical amd escapist, but what I'm really looking for is a book with a strong side character who is upbeat, positive, and has a pretty innocent (not naiive) outlook on the world.
Similar characters that im looking for are Sylphrena from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives, Rocky from Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary, or even Hera from John Scalzi's Starter Villian. I guess looking at these comparisons the character I'm looking for is often not human….
Bonus points if it is stand alone or a short series.
by Sulcata13
8 Comments
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and/or Kafka By The Shore, both by Haruki Murakami They don’t start too Sci-Finbut they both take some Other-Wordly turns. The characters are brilliant, the writing and translations superb. 🤓
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
Try The Goblin Emperor. Kind of the inverse, wholesome lead, more cynical side characters. But a great book.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The 2 Necromancers series. 2 Necromancers try to earn a pardon for past crimes by doing odd jobs for a kingdom. Strong found family vibe. The character you are looking for is Spot the baby dragon. He isn’t born until the end of the second book, but is a main character following that being in the title of 3 books in the series 2 Necromancers, A Dragon, and A Vampire, The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company, and The Sheep Dragon. The last 2 titles I mentioned are similar to the Ba Sing Se Stories episode of Avatar The Last Airbender. They are short stories giving background insight into the story’s characters.
Perhaps one of the following? (I typed this out and before I submitted I realized you asked for side characters, but I included all main characters here. Still posting in case you find any of these up your alley!)
* Klara and the Sun by Kasuo Ishiguro – non-human protagonist
* We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E Taylor – the protagonist is pretty optimistic and upbeat
* Midworld by Alan Dean Foster – the main character and peoples are innocent in their own way
* The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien – I mean, Bilbo 🙂 You don’t need to read Lord of the Rings to enjoy The Hobbit on its own
* A Turn of Light by Julie Czerneda – it has been a bit since I’ve read this, but I remember the main character being pretty innocent
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Broccoli Bunch from Cinnamon Bun?